


Fifteen

by sally3015



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Klance at the end, Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, Mind Control, Some Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-11-16 03:42:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11245590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sally3015/pseuds/sally3015
Summary: During a mission Lance is turned back into his fifteen year old self and the team has to try to live with it for a week.





	1. Fifteen again

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Voltron fan fiction so constructive criticism is welcome!

It was a mission like any other. The paladins were facing a robeast that was attacking the planet they were trying to help. 

"Aren't these monsters usually harder to beat?" Hunk asked. 

The robeast wasn't that impressive, Lance even said it looked like a robot from a syfy movie with no budget for special effects.

"Aren't you usually the one complaining about these things?" Lance teased.

"I think Hunk is right. We should be careful, we don't know what tricks it might have up it's sleeves." Shiro prompted.

"I say we head back to the castle, just in case." Hunk proposed. 

"Come on Hunk, look at it! It's on the ground with at least ten holes in it. It's not going anywhere."   
Lance made Blue go over to it. 

"Lance, get away from it. It's important we trust in each others feelings." Shiro stopped Lance from going any further. 

"Listen for once Lance." Keith said. 

"Okay okay. Let's go." 

Blue stepped further away from the robeast. All off the lions flew off planet. 

"You know Keith. The way you're acting I'd say you're a scaredy cat." Lance taunted.

"What's your problem Lance?" Keith huffed. 

He was honestly tired of Lance starting so many fights. He didn't mind competition, he liked it honestly, but it felt like Lance hates him. 

"My problem is-" Whatever Lance was going to say was cut off by the robeast firing a laser from the planet that caught everyone off guard.

It hit Lance's lion.

"Lance! Are you okay!?" Pidge questioned.

Blue seemed alright, but the laser had to do something. It wouldn't fire at them for no reason. Then they heard the screams. 

"Tow Lance's lion to the castle!" Shiro ordered. 

Keith followed the order, quickly getting Lance's lion to the hangar. Everyone else docked their lions and ran to Lance's. Blue opened her mouth and Lance basically fell out.

"Where the fuck am I!?" Lance screamed in confusion.

That's when the team noticed Lance had gotten smaller. His voice was higher. 

"L-Lance?" Hunk said hesitantly. 

"Hunk! Dios mio, I'm glad you're here!" Lance was extremely relieved to see his best friend and quickly hugged him. 

"Do you see that huge lion or am I going crazy?" Lance asked.

"Dude, you might want to look at where you are." Hunk said softly. 

Lance looked at his team staring at him.

"...Is that Shiro?" Lance asked.

Hunk nodded. 

"You look bad ass!" Lance let go of Hunk and rushed over to a confused Shiro.

"Did you find aliens on the kerberos mission? Is that where you got that awesome scar!?" 

Lance was star struck. 

"Lance, don't you remember we're fighting aliens everyday?" Pidge prompted. 

"How do you know my name?" Lance tilted his head a bit.

"Guys, maybe we should tell Coran and Allura what happened." Hunk pulled Lance away, keeping him close.

"Okay seriously, where am I?" Lance pushed Hunk away a bit. 

"Lance, don't freak out, okay?" Shiro touched his shoulder comfortingly. 

Lance nodded. Everything was explained to him. 

"So we're stuck defending the universe, against an alien dictator, and we get like zero breaks." Lance summarized. 

"Don't think so selfishly!" Allura proclaimed as she walked in with Coran.

She stopped when she Lance's state. "What...what happened to Lance?" she asked. 

"The laser he was shot with de aged him." Pidge explained. 

"Who's she?" Lance whispered to Hunk. 

"That's Allura, the princess we told you about." Hunk replied. 

Lance smirked and walked up to her. 

"Hello Allura, can I say something?" Allura rolled her eyes.

'Same old Lance.' she thought. 

"You remind me a lot of my older sister. She always had a commanding air around her, but you could always tell she was a good person." 

Allura blushed. "That's...that's actually quite nice of you to say, Lance." Allura smiled. 

"Hey, shouldn't we be getting Lance into a pod or something? Maybe that'll get him back to normal." Keith said.

"That's a good idea. Even if the pod doesn't work, we still might be able to figure out how long Lance will be like this." Coran said. 

"Let's do it then." Shiro stated. All of them walked to the medical bay.

On the way there, Keith couldn't help but notice the way Lance looked at him. Even though he and Lance fought, Lance didn't always act mean to him. They actually got along pretty well, despite a small rivalry, or what Keith thought was just competitiveness. Not this time. Lance glared at Keith when he thought Keith wasn't looking. Keith was beyond confused. 

'Why does Lance hate me even more now that he's younger?' Keith pondered. 

They got to the bed bay and Lance changed into the pod suit. He got inside and Coran closed it. Lance was soon unconscious and Coran read the information. 

"Well, there's good news and bad news." Coran informed. 

"Tell us the bad news first." Pidge insisted. 

"The bad news is the machine can't turn him back to normal." Coran explained.

"What's the good news?" Hunk asked. 

"Lance will go back to normal in a week! Right now he's fifteen years old." Coran chirped. 

"It's going to be a hell of week then." Keith grumbled.

"At least you all can still form Voltron." Allura said hopefully. 

"I don't think so. He doesn't have as strong as bond with Blue anymore." Shiro turned to Hunk. 

"Hunk, he knows you best. I think it's a good idea for you to be the one to keep an eye on him." 

Hunk nodded. "Got it. Uh...Keith, you might want to stay away from Lance for the week."  
Keith raised an eyebrow. 

"Do I get an explanation?" 

Hunk shook his head no.

"Not now at least. Lance needs to be the one to tell you, if he's willing."

Hunk had an oddly serious look on his face. Keith sighed. 

"Alright, let's just him out of the pod."


	2. The trouble with favoritism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets out of the pod and wants to spend some time with his hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the positive feedback!

Lance was released from the pod. Hunk quickly caught him. He hadn't been in there for long so he recovered quicker. Hunk took Lance to his room to get changed again. 

"Hey, Keith, are you alright?" Shiro asked. 

Keith looked down.

"I feel like Lance hates me more than ever. I don't even know what I did! What did I do to make him hate me for so long!?" Keith proclaimed, getting frustrated. 

"It might have something to do with Iverson comparing him to you all the time back at the Garrison." Pidge stated.

"What do you mean?" Keith asked.

"Everytime Lance screwed up Iverson reminded him he only became a fighter class pilot because you dropped out." Pidge explained.

"He hates me for that? It's not my fault! Lance is such an asshole!" Keith shouted angrily. 

"Keith calm down! We can talk to him once he's back to normal, okay?" Shiro advised, trying de escalate the situation. 

"No, I'm done! If he hates me, fine! I don't need him!" Keith hissed as he stormed out of the room. 

Shiro sighed. Later in the day, after an awkward and tense breakfast, Lance walked up to Shiro. 

"We didn't get to talk much earlier, but I'm really excited to meet you Shiro!" Lance exclaimed.

"Really? Why is that?" Shiro asked. 

"You're my hero!" Lance answered. 

"I am?" Shiro said in disbelief.

Lance never mentioned that before. 

"Of course! You always had the best grades and scores on the simulator! Not to mention you were the leader on the Kerberos mission!" Lance beamed.

Shiro smiled at him. "I'm glad I'm someone you look up to Lance." Shiro was honestly flattered. 

"I heard from Hunk that there's a training deck here, I was wondering if we could train together." Lance inquired. 

"Sure Lance. How about in half an hour?" Shiro asked. 

"Sounds great! See you then!" Lance said with a smile as he walked away. 

Shiro chuckled and headed to his room to prepare. 

"Hey Shiro, you got a minute?" Pidge asked. 

"Sure, what's up?" Shiro answered. 

"I think I might have found a way to figure out where my dad and brother are! I need your arm though." Pidge explained as she dragged Shiro to her work space.

In the end it was all for nothing. Pidge nearly started crying from how frustrated she was and Shiro had to calm her down. He didn't realize how much time he had spent in there. Once he could, he left and headed towards the training deck. 

"Shiro! Can we talk?" Keith looked pretty anxious. 

"What's wrong?" Shiro asked. 

"About Lance...Shiro, I have no idea what to do. I can't even look at him!" Keith huffed. 

Shiro smiled fatherly. "I thought you didn't need him?"

"Yea well...we're supposed to be a team right?" Keith crossed his arms and looked down. 

"Exactly. It's good that you're thinking that way Keith." 

Shiro touched Keith's shoulder. Keith smiled softly. Lance watched from behind a corner. He had waited in the training room for two hours. He even tried to do a level by himself, getting a black eye in the process. Why didn't Shiro come? He was talking to Keith. Of all people he had to be talking to Keith. Keith was the one everyone liked. The one with better grades, the one he was always compared to. Jealousy bubbled up inside him. He was being ignored. Just like at home. It wasn't easy being the middle child. He was a very well behaved child because his mom was like his best friend. She still disciplined him and was a serious parent when she need to be, she was a great mother. Because he was so well behaved, his mother tended to focus more on his older sister that was more rebellious than he was. Her attention was more to the kids that complained and whined. Lance bit his lip and walked away. He had to go find Hunk or someone he could spill his guts to. 

"What happened to your eye my boy!?" Coran asked worriedly as he quickened his pace to get to Lance.

"Oh. The robot in the training room kicked my ass." Lance explained.

"Would you like to heal in the pod?" Coran asked. 

"Nah, I'm okay. Can I talk to you about something though?" Lance played with his sleeve. 

"Of course. I'm all ears." Coran smiled encouragingly. 

Lance felt a little better already. Coran reminded him a lot of his favorite uncle.

"Okay, so...I asked Shiro to train with me and he said yes. I waited there at the time he was supposed to meet me but he didn't show up and I waited two hours..." Lance sighed. 

Coran waited for him to continue. 

"I went to find him and he was talking to Keith! I feel so ignored! I know I sound like a spoiled kid, but I just wanted to spend time with someone I thought was my hero." Coran pat Lance's head. 

"I don't think you're in the wrong at all Lance. You should talk to Shiro about it. If you feel ignored, you can always come find me. I always enjoy your company." Coran said.

Lanced smiled widely.

"Thank you so much Coran." Lance hugged him. Coran hugged him back and soon let go. 

"Anytime Lance." Coran walked away. 

Lance went to go find Shiro. Shiro was again on his way to the training room. 

"Lance! What happened to your eye!?" Shiro asked.

"I tried to train without you, because you're two hours late." Lance said bitterly. 

"Two hours? Lance, I'm so sorry."

"I saw what you were doing that was so much more important. You forgot all about me because you were talking to Keith." Lance huffed.

"Keith needed me because you upset him." Shiro explained. 

"I haven't talked to him all day!" Lance exclaimed.

"He still needed to talk things out. You should understand." Shiro dictated. 

"Hold on, this is my fault now!? I got hurt because you weren't there! You talked to Keith after I waited for two hours! I saw you!" Lance yelled.

Shiro was taken back slightly because it was rare one of the team yelled at him.

"Pidge needed my help too." Shiro stated. 

"I asked you first! Shouldn't you have told her that?" Lance insisted. 

"It was important Lance." Shiro insisted. 

"It? Or maybe she was. You're playing favorites." Lance accused. 

"Excuse me? I don't play favorites." Shiro prompted. 

"Really? When is Pidge's birthday." Lance asked. 

"April 3rd, why?" Shiro knew because Matt mentioned it when he was missing her. 

"When's my birthday?" Lance glared. 

"Well, you never told me..." Shiro said sheepishly. 

"When's Hunk's birthday?" Shiro rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. 

"You don't know. You never asked. I don't know what you've been doing since we've been stuck in space, but it's obviously not getting to know anyone other than Pidge and Keith!" Lance accused. 

Shiro felt awful. Lance was right. 

"I'm sorry Lance, I really am." Shiro tried to put a hand on Lance's shoulder.

Lance stepped back. "I don't know what I've been doing when I was here, but it should have been sticking up for myself."

Lance left, and Shiro felt like crap.


	3. Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith pushes a few too many of Lance's buttons.

Lance went to go find his best friend. He felt a little bad about talking to Shiro like that, but kinda felt like he deserved it. He wasn't sure what the him that's been here would have done, but that's what he felt like he needed to do. He walked into the kitchen to see Keith talking to Hunk. The jealousy bubbled up inside him again. 

'Calm down. Hunk is my friend. He can talk to whoever he wants, it doesn't mean that he likes him more.' Lance thought. 

He tried to walk out to give them privacy but Hunk spotted him. 

"Lance! What happened to your eye!?" Hunk questioned.

He forgot about the conversation with Keith and fussed over Lance instead. 

"Calm down Hunk, it was just an accident with the training robot." Lance explained. 

"Shiro didn't make you go to a healing pod!?" Hunk was now mad as well as worried.

"He was busy with someone else and was two hours late. I kinda yelled at him for picking favorites..."

Lance felt really bad now. He was thinking of apologizing.

"You yelled at Shiro just for that!?" Keith shouts. 

"Keith, calmed down. Lance didn't explain fully. He wouldn't tell at someone for no reason." Hunk was trying to calm everyone down. 

"No, he needs to be taught a lesson! Not everything is about you Lance!" Keith hissed.

"Excuse me? Since when did I say everything was about me?" Lance spat back. 

Keith stepped back. "You're trying to make everything about you! Shiro was just busy!" He retorted. 

"Oh yea? When was the last time Shiro was busy helping or hanging out with me or Hunk!?" Lance prompted. 

Keith couldn't answer. 

"You know what else Keith? Nothing has ever been about me! All my life it's been about someone else!" Lance had a dark look in his eyes, one Keith wasn't used to. "At home it was my siblings, in the garrison it was you!" Lance continued. 

"It's not my fault Iverson compared me to you!" Keith said, quieter than he'd wanted.

"What are you talking about? You got everything I ever wanted! I worked my ass off to get accepted to the garrison and what happened when I did? I was kept from being in fighter pilot class because of you!" Lance had made Keith back up to the wall. 

"It's not my fault I'm better than you!" Keith's retorted. 

"You're not better than me! I worked hard all my life and you did nothing to get where you are! I saw you everyday in the garrison never studying, just talking to Shiro! Not to mention that everyone loved you! The teachers, the girls, you never had to go through anything I had to, then to just be compared to you!" Lance screamed in his face.

Hunk pulled them apart.

"That's enough Lance, you need to calm down." Hunk said as calmly as he could without being afraid of seeing his friend so full of hatred.

He never got liken this. Keith was at a loss for words. Lance had just blown up at him, Lance, the guy that joked and flirted at every given opportunity. He couldn't believe this. It was impossible. 

"Paladins! I need everyone to suit up immediately! A nearby planet wants to form an alliance." Allura commanded over the speaker. 

"Come on Lance, your suits in my room." Hunk ushered Lance away, leaving a hurt and shocked Keith behind. 

The aliens on the planet didn't look human, but they all had an appealing look with bright colors. All of their ears were different, but each reminded Lance of an animal from Earth. The king had dog ears and purple and yellow spots dotting all over his skin. His eyes were pink. He welcomed everyone with open arms. He and Allura got along well. The aliens threw a big party to welcome them, and also discuss the alliance with Allura. Lance looked around in awe, seeing so many different aliens of the same species. It was actually quite beautiful.

"Hunk, I'm going to go talk to some of the aliens." Lance mentioned to Hunk. 

"Alright buddy. Come find me if you need me." Lance nodded and walked away.

Lance was soon approached by three children. One had cat like ears, one had dog like ears, and the third one had rabbit like ears. The first one had stripes of gold and blue. The second one had big circles of red and blue. The third one, also being the smallest, had stripes like the first one that were green and pink. 

"Do you really pilot a big lion?" The first one asked. Lance smiled. 

"Yep! I pilot the blue lion." Lance answered.

"That's so cool! Can we see?" The second asked.

"Sorry, but they're in the castle." Lance apologized. 

The three made sounds of disappointment. 

"But, you can hang out with me if you'd like!" Lance offered.

The three smiled.

"Let's get to know each other. I'm Lance!" He introduced.

"My name is Okhu!" The first one replied.

"My name is Celn!" The second one said. 

"I'm Esue." The third one stated. 

"It's nice to meet all of you." Lance smiled.

Esue offered Lance a cup. 

"Thanks! What is this?" Lance asked. 

The liquid was dark purple.

"It's Darvasa. It's very sweet." Esue said. 

Lance sipped at it. It tasted like vanilla cake. 

"Wow! This is really good, thanks!" He ruffled Esue's fur. Esue giggled happily. 

"Lance, come plays with us in the play area!" Celn pulled on Lance's arm and Lance followed cheerfully. 

Okhu and Esue ran ahead of them.

The play area was in the same room as the party. It had a few small tables and chairs, along with weird alien toys. He picked up a small object that was like a stick. He found a button on the side and pressed it. It turned into a ball. 

"Woah, this is pretty cool." Lance commented. 

"Lance, I want to give you something." Esue said. 

Lanced looked over. She was holding a stuffed animal. It looked like a mix of a rabbit, pig, and a goat. Lance took it and it squeaked.

"Thank you! It's cute." He smiled.

"I know you have to fight a lot and it's dangerous. This animal is a sign of luck!" She explained. 

"Aww. I'll take it on every mission." Lance really appreciated the gift.

"Wait, where's Celn?" Okhu looked around the immediate area. 

"Stay here, I'll look." Lance put down the other toy but kept the stuffed one close. 

He searched around the large room for Celn. He spotted her getting pulled by her arm out the front door. 

"Hey! Stop!" Lance yelled as he sprinted after them. That called some attention. 

"Lance where are you going!?" Pidge was the closest and ran after Lance. 

Lance followed the man. He was dressed in all black and had a mask over his face. Celn was sobbing with fear. Pidge threw her Bayard at the man.

The man stopped, the Bayard was was stuck in his side. Pidge gasped in horror. The man took off the clothing, revealing that he was a robot. Celn took that opportunity to run to Lance, hugging his leg in fear.

"Wait, why would he take her just to let her go?" Lance asked himself. 

He heard ticking. This was a trap, mean specifically for him. There's was no time to waste so he grabbed Pidge and Celn and held them protectively, running as far away as he could before the droid exploded. The explosion called full attention, especially from the paladins. They ran outside to see Lance with metal threw his side and other places. Pidge teared up as she saw what had happened. Lance coughed up blood. 

"Are...you...okay?" Lance muttered before passing out.


	4. The pod

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets fixed up from his latest injury.

Pidge couldn't believe what had happened. Lance's blood was on her face. Celn was screaming. Shiro picked up Lance as carefully as he could. 

"We have to get to the castle now!" Shiro ordered.

He was just as terrified as the rest of the team was. He couldn't lose another team member. Pidge was in shock. Her teammates' blood was literally on her hands. She couldn't move. Hunk picked her up as they all ran to the castle. Lance was rushed into the medical bay.

"We can't put him in the pod with all of that metal in his body. I have to do surgery." Coran said grimly. 

Shiro carefully laid Lance on the table. Coran had everyone but Allura leave. Pidge was crying into Hunk's chest. 

"Why...why did he save me!?" Pidge choked out.

"That's how Lance is...remember how he shielded Coran?" Hunk mentioned. 

"I can't fucking believe he did this..." Keith hissed.

"What did he do Keith? Save Pidge's life!?" Hunk said bitterly. 

That shocked everyone. Hunk was even more calm and cheerful than Lance and he just yelled at them. 

"Guys, I didn't want to say anything because I thought Lance should but I can't take it. You all need to know something." Hunk said. 

"Then start talking because all this is confusing as shit." Keith muttered.

"I know he told you this Keith, but he was put down a lot at the garrison. What he didn't tell you was that even though he wasn't a fighter pilot, he's a smart guy. I know all of you don't see Lance as someone like me or Pidge, but he is. He could tell Pidge's technology from garrison technology right away and could tell Rover was a fake when not even Coran, who's had a lot more experience than him, couldn't tell. He figured out how to pilot Blue right away. Lance is unappreciated sometimes here, and at the garrison he was never appreciated. When you constantly get beaten down for trying your hardest you think you aren't good enough for anyone. Lance is smart enough to know when he's treated like shit, but he's also smart enough to know he can't do anything about it except leave the garrison. He's in the garrison because he wanted to be a fighter class pilot to support his huge family. He never was because of you Keith. No matter what he did he was in your shadow. All he ever wanted was to be recognized for his efforts and saw you as someone he had to strive to be. That's why he thinks of you as a rival." Hunk explained.

"None of that is my fault, why does he hate me more now when he's younger?" Keith crossed his arms. 

"Because you don't plan Keith, you go on instinct. You tried to take on Zarkon when you were warned not to. You don't think things through enough and Lance saw that. He saw someone who got to where he is without being scared, without doing all the things he had to do. He's jealous Keith. I'm not saying its your fault, but that's why Lance hates you right now. He went through a really hard time because of you." Hunk said. 

Keith realized Hunk was right. When he went to rescue Shiro he didn't actually know it was Shiro. The blue lion just told him to go there. It was dumb luck. 

"My lion chose me because of acting on impulse though." Keith retorted. 

"Our lions may have chosen us because we're the closest to what they look for, but we're a team. We need to balance each other out. Being too impulsive has gotten you into trouble." Shiro stated. 

"I think we all need to talk to Lance when he's better." Hunk mentioned. 

Everyone nodded. A few hours later Coran allowed everyone to come inside. Blood was all over the ground near the table. Lance was safely in the pod. 

"We were lucky this time, but next time we might not be. From now on when we leave the castle we have to make sure everyone has a partner so no one will be caught alone. The only reason Pidge was okay was because Lance was there, and even then Lance almost died." Allura dictated.

Coran was looking sadly at Lance in the pod. 

"Lance is truly a good paladin. This is the second time he's been in the pod, once again because he was shielding someone." Hunk walked up to the pod. 

"Looks like he's having a nightmare." Hunk saw the pained look on his friend's face. 

"He looks like Shiro did when he was put in the pod last." Keith stated. 

"I wonder what Lance has nightmares about." Pidge pondered aloud.

Lance was in an unfamiliar place. It looked like an alien ship. It was purple. He heard laughing that sent a a chill down his spine. He decided he didn't want to die like someone in a horror movie and ran in the opposite direction of the laugh. He could suddenly hear it surrounding him. There was no where to hide. 

"I'm not scared! Leave me alone!" Lance yelled out to whoever was there. 

"Yes you are. I'm in your head. There's no where you can go. Your team won't be able to save you. I will corrupt every part of you until there's nothing left but an obedient slave!" The voice cackled. 

The ship turned to blackness. It enveloped him, leaving him barely able to breathe or scream. He opened his eyes and saw that he couldn't breathe because of Hunk's bone crushing hug.

"Lance you scared the crow out of me! I thought you...well, I'm just glad you're okay!" Hunk exclaimed. 

Lance smiled groggily. 

"Sorry I scared you buddy." Lance said. 

Hunk helped him sit down. Lance felt like everyone was staring at him. 

"Lance, I don't know what to say really but...thank you. You don't even remember me and yet you saved and almost died for me." Pidge said softly. 

Lance gently ruffled her hair. 

"I'm the older brother to two siblings. I come from a big family too, we all look out for each other. We're like a space family, right? You're like another little sister to me." Lance explained. 

Pidge smiled, feeling like her own brother was here. 

"I'd risk my life for any of you, even if we don't really get along." Lance glanced at Keith and Shiro.

"That's actually something we want to talk about." Shiro said. Lance looked at Shiro. 

"Lance, you're a part of this team, even if you don't remember any of it. You're our family too. I'm sorry I didn't get to know you or Hunk, but I promise I'll make an effort from now on. I didn't realize I was playing favorites." Shiro said. 

"I accept your apology Shiro." Lance responded. 

Shiro nudged Keith with his elbow. Keith sighed. 

"Lance, I want you to know that nothing you're angry about is my fault." Hunk nudged him this time.

"Okay, most. I can't do anything about how the teachers treated you, but...I can work on my temper. I can work on trying to be friends. I can work on relying on my team more." Keith continued. 

"Wow Keith...I never thought I'd hear any of this from you." Lance said.

"Well, I am. We're all a team and we should act like it." Keith responded. 

"I accept your apology, and I'm sorry too." Lance smiled, earning a smile from Keith back. 

"Then we can get to the second part. You were out for a day and a half. In that time we talked to the king and found out the robot was definitely meant for only you. The planet was working with the galra in order to keep peace." Allura explained.

"Wait, why me?" Lance asked. 

"You were the one that was turned younger, we fear that it may have done something to you." Allura answered.

"Well it almost killed me." Lance mentioned.

"More than that my boy. We think it's part of a plan. The healing pod is amazing in finding injuries and fixing them, but a new poison of some kind can't be recognized until it's too late since the pod doesn't know about it." Coran said. 

"But that doesn't make sense...why injure me if they poisoned me?" Lance pondered. 

"We don't know, but we all need to watch you just in case." Pidge said.

"Which is why we're going to have a sleepover!" Hunk chirped. 

"We didn't have those much on Altea but Hunk explained that it could be a great team bonding exercise. Also I'd love to experience something from Earth culture." Allura said with a smile.

"Wow, that sounds perfect right now." Lance said. 

"Then let's get it started!" Hunk led Lance to his room to get dressed. 

Lance tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head whispering something to him. He was sure that what he saw in the pod was just a nightmare, poison would hurt not make nightmares. He was also sure that the whispering was just a part of intrusive thoughts, he never had them but thought that might be it. Besides, the team would watch over him. There was nothing to worry about, right?


	5. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins have a sleepover.

The sleep over was just what Lance needed. Everyone was either on the couch or on the floor that had blankets and pillows on it. There was green popcorn, or what looked like popcorn.

"Okay, what shall we do first?" Allura asked.

"We could play never have I ever." Pidge prompted.

"How do you play?" Keith asked.

"Well someone says something they haven't done and if someone did it they lower a finger." Pidge explained.

"Sounds fun! I'll go first. Never have I ever broken my arm." Allura said.

Shiro, Lance and Keith lowered a finger.

"I fell off a slide when I was playing tag and going up backwards." Lance explained.

"Training deck." Keith said shortly.

"My arm was broken badly during a battle, so the galra removed it." Shiro said quietly.

Lance rubbed Shiro's back comfortingly, as he always did when his younger siblings were upset.

"Hey, just another part of you that makes you bad ass Shiro." Lance encouraged.

That brought a small smile to Shiro's lips.

"Okay, I'll go next. Never have I cussed someone out in Spanish." Pidge said.

Lance lowered another finger. He was the only one who did.

"Oh yea, you were speaking Spanish a couple days ago." Keith commented.

"Well, I am from Cuba. At the garrison this one guy called me a disappointment to my family so I cussed him out for a long time. I was so angry I didn't realize he couldn't understand me." Lance recalled.

"I remember that. He was confused but terrified." Hunk chuckled.

"I'm surprised anyone could be scared of Lance." Pidge commented.

"Oh trust me, Lance can be really scary when he wants to be." Hunk states.

"Lance, you go next." Coran said.

"Okay...never have I been asked out." Lance said quietly.

Shiro, Keith, Allura, and Coran lowered a finger.

"Seriously? No one?" Pidge asked.

"Yes, seriously Pidge. I wouldn't lie about that." Lance responded.

"It's alright Lance. Even if you haven't been asked out, you've still gotten a kiss from a mermaid." Hunk said reassuringly. Lance smiled slightly.

"Yep, a gorgeous mermaid at that." Lance boasted.

Keith frowned.

"Let's do something else. How about we give each other make overs? I don't like make up but it's fun to get and give horrible ones." Pidge said.

"I have just the stuff, I found make up when I was looking for skin stuff!" Lance chirped as he stood up.

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Shiro asked.

"My room isn't far away, I'll be fine." Lance replied as he left. As he walked to his room, the whispers got louder.

'They know so little about you. How long have you been in space? No one has bothered to ask. They don't really care about you.' The voice hissed.

. "Shut up, they apologized and they won't do it again." Lance muttered to himself.

'Only Shiro and Keith did. No one else. Do you really think Shiro will be interested in you? You're nobody and everyone knows it. You're the seventh wheel.' The voice taunted.

He got to his room. 'Seventh wheel...there are seven of us. That doesn't mean it's true.' He thought.

'It is true. You have nothing. You aren't smart. You aren't Keith. You're not good enough.' The voice cackled.

"I am good enough! I always help my friends and family!" Lance growled. He looked for the make up in the bathroom.

'Your family is on Earth. None of these people are your family. Your family has to love you. These people aren't even your friends. Hunk has watched everyone ignore you and did nothing. Where was he? Once you're back to normal no one will care about you. Even if they promised, who's going to hold them to it? You never stood up for yourself before, what will change?' The voice asked.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Lance punched the wall and panted. The voice seemed to quiet down.

"Lance?" Keith said softly.

Lance quickly hid his hand and avoided looking Keith right in the eyes.

"H-Hey Keith. What are you doing here? I said I was fine looking by myself." Lance said.

"I just wanted to check on you, is your hand okay?" Keith asked.

Lance sighed.

"It's not broken or anything, but it does kind of hurt." Lance admitted.

"Do you want to tell me what all that was about?" Keith asked, walking closer to Lance.

"It was just something stupid. Intrusive thoughts and shit." Lance muttered.

"Look, Lance, I'm not the best person to comfort you. I hardly understand my own feelings, let alone yours or anyone else's. I didn't have a family for most of my life. I was alone. So now that I have all of you, it takes some getting used to. I don't know how to act when I'm living with so many people. Even if I'm not good at it, I'm here for you." Keith said.

Lance smiled slightly.

"Thanks Keith." He patted Keith's shoulder. "Sometimes that's just what I need to hear." Lance continued.

Lance grabbed the make up and Keith carried some. They both headed back to the others. Lance did Allura's make up, Keith did Pidge's and Hunk did Shiro's make up while Coran watched. One they were done Pidge looked like a clown, her lipstick was way too thickly applied and her eyeshadow was a horrible color. That made Pidge laugh so hard she couldn't sit up.

"That is way too much mascara Hunk! He looks like he fought a squid." Lance commented with a chuckle.

"I'm trying my best! I'm an only child that was only either interested in food or tech!" Hunk responded.

"Lance I hope you're not doing as bad as job as them." Allura said.

"Here, take a look for yourself!" Lance handed Allura a mirror.

Allura took the mirror and gasped. The make up was applied evenly and were definitely her colors.

"How are you so good at this Lance?" Allura asked, impressed.

"I have an older sister. I noticed she had trouble sometimes so I learned how to do her make up." Lance replied.

"The sister you told me I reminded you of?" Allura asked.

"Yea, the very same." Lance smiled softly, until something hit him.

How long had he been in space? Didn't Earth time go faster than in space? If so, what does his family think? Do they think he's dead? His poor younger siblings. They would be crying their eyes out. They did when he left for the garrison. Death was much more serious though. His siblings would think he went missing and died. He might never see his family again. He might never feel his mother's arms around him, always so safe and comforting. He might never feel the sand between his toes, smell the salty air, feel the cold water hit his face. He'll never get to tell his family goodbye. He'll never see them again. Lance bit his lip and chocked back tears. Over thinking was a pain in the ass. He was sure he was going to cry until he was actually hit with something, a pillow.

"Oh sorry Lance, I was trying to hit Keith " Shiro chuckled.

"It's on now Shiro!"

Lance grabbed a pillow and yelled as he charged at Shiro. Shiro didn't realize how strong Lance was and fell over. Lance hit him with the pillow until Keith joined in and hit Lance. Hunk grabbed a pillow and teamed up with Lance. Pidge grabbed two pillows and tied them together for some sort of pillow nunchucks. She joined Lance and Hunk. Allura smiled and grabbed a pillow of her own. Coran grabbed several smaller pillows and used them as projectiles. He was unstoppable and protected Allura. It soon turned into paladins vs Allura and Coran. Lance couldn't help but be cheered up by all of this. In the end, everyone laid on the floor, sweaty and tired.

"I-I think it's time for bed." Shiro said through pants.

Everyone agreed and went to their rooms to change. Soon they all regrouped in the living room and laid on the floor on the big comfortable blanket. Another big blanket covered everyone. Lance was in between Pidge and Keith. Pidge was half asleep as she cuddled up to Lance.

"Sorry...remind me of my brother..." She mumbled, starting to move away.

Lance brought her close again, cuddling her like he always did with his younger sister when she had a nightmare and crawled into his bed.

"It's okay, you're like my sister anyway." Lance whispered.

Pidge smiled sleepily and soon fell asleep. Lance closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep as well. He didn't know that falling asleep was a huge mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I don't update on a set schedule, so when would you guys like me to update? I can't do every day or every two days.


	6. Enough is enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The voice in Lance's head is revealed, and getting stronger.

Lance looked around and unlike last time, he saw a very familiar place. Valdera beach. He smiled and ran towards the place he knew like the back of his hand. His home.

"Mamma! ¡Estoy en casa! ¡Tu hijo está en casa!" (Mom! I'm home! Your son is home!) Lance called out as he reached the turn to his house.

He stopped once he saw his home. It was in ruins. There were holes that implied that the damage wasn't from age. He ran inside and saw the massacre that had befallen his family. Blood was splattered everywhere. His family's bodies were scattered over the living room, each of their faces filled with terror that had been caused by their last moments. His little brother's arm was far away from his body, his mother's guts laid on the floor like trash. He couldn't even tell which corpse was his younger sister's. His older sister was impaled in the eye with a knife. His father's face was beaten so badly Lance almost vomited. Lance screamed so loud he thought he would break a window, if they hadn't all been broken already. He suddenly felt a hand covering his eyes and an arm wrapped around his stomach.

"I guess you were too late. If you do exactly what I say, you might not be." The person said.

Lance recognized the voice, it was the same voice from earlier. There was no way he could trust the voice but...he almost felt like he had to. There was an urgency to listen. Maybe he did want to. Maybe he could trust the voice. It sounded much more comforting then before. He felt like he could relax.

"What...what do you want me to do?" Lance asked.

"Give in. Let your mind go. Give me control Lance, you can see your family again." The voice whispered.

That sounded nice. All he had to do was let it happen. He missed his family. He wanted to see them again.

"Lance! Wake up, please!" Another voice told him.

Hearing that voice brought him out of whatever he was falling under. Pidge. It was Pidge. She was worried, he had to wake up. He made the person let go and he sat up, shaking and sweating. He panted heavily and looked around to see the same place he fell asleep. Everyone, excluding Hunk being the heavy sleeper he is, was staring at him.

"You screamed in your sleep, you looked like you were having a nightmare." Keith told Lance.

"We tried to wake you up but you wouldn't, we almost poured water on you." Shiro said softly.

"Y-Yea, it was just a nightmare...a really bad one..." Lance admitted.

Pidge hugged Lance. Allura followed her example. The rest followed suit until Lance was being hugged by everyone, even Hunk had woken up. Hunk didn't know why everyone was hugging Lance though.

"Thanks guys, I really need this." Lance muttered.

"We're here for you Lance." Allura said.

"I don't think I want to go back to sleep." Lance stated.

"That's alright, I can make you weird space hot chocolate." Hunk yawned.

"Thanks Hunk." Lance sighed in relief.

'I almost let whoever that is win. Something's wrong with me, what if I had given up? What would have happened to me? I can't let that happen again. That stupid voice messed with my mind but no matter what I won't give up.' Lance thought.

Lance was more wrong than he ever has before. On the galra mothership, Haggar was grinning wickedly. Her plan was successful so far.

"Haggar, how is the blue paladin coming along?" Zarkon asked.

"Better than I first thought. I've been going through his memories and found the weaknesses he can't even remember. The darvasa is working just as planned and then some. I've broken part of him recently, it won't take much now." Haggar cackled.

"It is unfortunate that the laser didn't hit the black paladin as planned. This is interesting however." Zarkon said.

"This paladin seems to be the most loyal, when we break him none of them will see it coming. He is also a sharpshooter. He can be very useful. The more I break him the more I can do to him." Haggar dictates.

"Then I want him broken faster. There's not much time left that we can prey upon him having such a young mind." Zarkon insists.

"Then we must attack. It will help." Haggar prompted.

"Fine. I'll have that paladin yet." Zarkon said.

It didn't take long for the hot chocolate to be made. It also didn't take long for a glass ship to find them. It quickly started attacking a planet. The paladins suited up and quickly got go their lions. Allura and Coran went to the control center.

"Lance! Are you sure you can pilot the blue lion?" Allura asked as the particle shield was raised.

"She's a good girl. I've got it!" Lance chirped.

There was no time to say anything else. Lance was covering Keith as they battled with the ships blasting at the planet. The voice in his head was at it again, even worse than before.

'YOU'LL DIE AND NO ONE WILL KNOW! NO ONE WILL CARE!' The voice screamed.

The scream caused Lance to miss when he shot his ice beam. The ice beam froze Keith.

"Lance! Watch where you're shooting that thing!" Keith hissed as he melted the ice.

"S-Sorry, I just got a little distracted." Lance apologized.

"Maybe Lance should sit this one out. He hasn't had enough training." Pidge prompted.

"No, we need him in case we need to form Voltron." Shiro replied.

Lance tensed up. Was that all they needed him for? To form Voltron? In that case, why was he even there? If no one had gotten to know him, then why did they even keep him? Why did they oust replace him?

"Maybe Allura could pilot Blue, just until Lance is back to his normal age." Keith mentioned.

"NO! No please I can do it I promise!" Lance pleaded, ready to cry.

"Lance was always a failure at the garrison, nothing has changed!" Pidge stated.

"Stop! That's not true!" Lance griped his controls.

"Stop lying to yourself. You think you deserve friends like us? What makes you think we would actually want to get to know someone as pathetic and weak like you?" Shiro hissed.

"H-Hunk! Please! Tell them they're wrong!" Lance said hopefully.

"Why should I? All you ever do is mess up. They're all just telling the truth." Hunk replied.

Lance breathed heavily, he threw his helmet hard enough to crack it. He held his head and screamed bloody murder. He couldn't take this. It was too much. He couldn't breathe. His vision slowly started to fade and he slumped over in his cockpit.


	7. What lurks beneath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance listens to the voice.

Lance felt calm. It was as if every negative emotion was stripped away. No fear, panic, or anxiety. He wasn't in his lion anymore. He was on the beach of his old home. The sand was warm and familiar. He picked it up and let it slip through his fingers. He sat up and noticed that he was very close to the water. He moved closer and touched the water. It was surprisingly warm. He started moving closer.

"Lance!" A voice called out to him.

He looked around. No one was there.

"Lance buddy! You gotta wake up!" Another voice said.

'Wake up? I'm not asleep, am I?' Lance thought to himself.

Lance started to stand up.

"Lance, mijo, (son) don't leave me again. " Said a voice he's heard since birth.

"Mamma...?" He asked.

Lance looked at the water. His mother was standing knee deep in the water.

"Come here Lance. I miss you so much." His mother said calmly.

Lance smiled and ran into the the water. It became increasingly hard to move. The water was like quicksand. He started to panic.

"H-Help me!" Lance screamed out to his mother.

His mother turned into a hooded woman that cackled loudly.

"You're mine now paladin!" She hissed.

Lance realized that was the voice that had tricked him before. This was all a trap. The water pulled him down, muffling his screams.

Meanwhile, his real body was in a healing pod.

"I can't find anything wrong with him except some higher brain activity." Coran states grimly.

"That bitch witch Haggar has something to do with this! I know it!" Pidge yelled.

"Calm down Pidge, we'll help Lance no matter what." Shiro dictated.

"This is the second time he's been in there because of the galra! There has to be something we can do!" Keith declared.

"If only we knew what happened...he just freaked out and was hearing things. It hurt to hear him like that." Hunk almost whispered.

"I-I...absolutely hate this!" Allura shouted, surprising all the paladins.

"P-Princess, are you okay?" Hunk asked.

"All of you are so important! You're so much more important than just paladins! You're all someone's child! You're all someone's friend, someone's family! Lance doesn't deserve this! He doesn't deserve how we treated him!" Allura said through tears.

"You're right princess, but we can do something about it! We've started trying to be better to him." Shiro said, hugging Allura.

Allura hugged him back.

"No matter what, well make sure Lance is okay." Keith said.

It took a few days for Lance to come out of the pod. The team had decided it was best to wait out the rest of the time of Lance being younger. Lance collapsed into Keith's arms this time. He looked up and smirked.

"Ha, isn't this the second time you cradled me in your arms?" Lance chuckled groggily.

"YOU DO REMEMBER IT YOU ASS!" Keith shouted, forgetting his concern.

"Lance, how do you feel?" Coran asked.

"Like I got hit with something, but not as big as a truck. Maybe a moped." Lance replied.

"That's our Lance." Shiro chuckled.

"Lance, what's the last thing you remember?" Pidge asked.

"I was hit by a laser." Lance replied.

"It seems you don't remember your time being two years younger. We can fill you in after you eat." Allura states.

"Sounds good princess." Lance chirped.

Keith helped Lance change and go to the kitchen as everyone followed. Something about this didn't feel right. Lance's smile didn't make the little wrinkle near his eye it always did. Keith may or may not stare at Lance when no one is looking. He's been staring at him enough to notice slight differences in the Cuban's features. Lance wasn't really happy. They made it to the kitchen and Lance sat down. Hunk served a bowl of food goo and gave it to Lance. Everyone chatted to catch Lance up on what happened. Keith was still having some doubts. After everything was cleared up, everyone went to go do their own thing. Lance didn't want any company, but Keith still followed him.

"Lance, there's something I want to know." Keith declares.

Lance stopped walking.

"Sure, what is it?" Lance asked.

"Why did you bring up the bonding moment?" Keith asked.

"It was a touching moment between us." Lance replies.

"Then there's something else I want to know." Keith put his hand on his bayard.

"Go ahead Keith." Lance said, also putting his hand on something.

"What the hell did you do with the real Lance?" Keith summoned his sword.

Lance summoned his blaster and shot the sword out of Keith's hand. Keith screamed in pain.

"Oh, the real Lance is right here. He willingly gave himself.~" Lance cackled.

Lance turned around completely, showing his now yellow and glowing eyes. Keith held his hurt hand and tried to grab his bayard. Lance pointed his blaster at Keith's head.

"I wouldn't do that red. Not unless you wanna die. Well, die sooner." Lance hissed.

Keith stopped teaching for it. Lance walked up to him.

"I bet you didn't know how strong your friend is. In fact...he's stronger than you." Lance stated.

Lance pinned Keith to the wall with his blaster. It was pointing right at Keith's heart.

"I-I may not know a lot about Lance, but I do know one thing." Keith nervously said.

"And what exactly is that?" Lance asked, pushing the blaster harder.

"How to distract you." Keith replied, hoping this would work.

Keith kissed Lance. Lance's eyes were wider than he thought possible. This was one thing that Haggar never could have accounted for. For a few seconds, Lance couldn't think about what he was being told to do. Keith took this opportunity to grab Lance's blaster and throw it far away. He kicked Lance in the stomach, making him hit the wall across from him. Lance writhed in pain, also being winded. Keith knew he would have to apologize for that once Lance wasn't trying to kill him.

"K-Keith...why?" Lance asked.

His eyes were no longer yellow or glowing. He had tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Lance, but you're not in control! I'm going to get the others, they can help!" Keith yelled as he ran away.

Keith could hear Lance growl like an animal. Then he could hear the steps following him. If you asked him, he would deny it, but he was terrified of Lance right now. Keith ran faster than ever before.

"Once I catch you I'll rip your fucking guts out!" Lance yelled.

'Great, all I did was piss him off!' Keith thought.

Keith kept running until he saw Shiro.

"Shiro! Lance is trying to kill me!" Keith said through pants.

"What are you guys fighting about now?" Shiro asked.

"No, he's literally trying to kill me!" Keith said.

Shiro saw Lance running towards them. He activated him arm and stood protectively in front of Keith.

"Lance, I don't want to hurt you. Whatever is controlling you you have to fight it!" Shiro pleased.

Lance laughed darkly.

"I don't want to."


	8. The storm within

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lines are crossed and Lance is saved.

Lance aimed his blaster at Shiro. Shiro and Keith had to continuously dodge the blasts, they were too well aimed to rush at Lance. Keith hoped someone would come soon to detain Lance. His prayers seemed to be answered when he heard someone coming.

"What's with all that noise?" Pidge asked as she got closer.

"Ah Pidge, why don't you join us?" Lance offered as he turned towards the corner Pidge would come from.

"Pidge! Watch out!" Keith warned.

Shiro kicked Lance to the wall, knocking the blaster out of his hands.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Pidge questioned as she rushed to Lance's side.

"You don't understand! He was-" Keith stopped when Pidge had taken out her bayard.

"Stay back, don't you dare hurt him!" Pidge warned.

"Pidge, he attacked us!" Shiro said, a little too late.

Lance had picked up his blaster and pressed the barrel against Pidge's temple.

"How cute, you came to his rescue." Lance smiled a sickeningly happy grin.

"L-Lance, please." Pidge pleaded.

"Aww, are you scared you little bitch? Good. Because you should be." Lance cackled.

Keith shouted all sorts of curses at Lance. Shiro tried to think of a way to save her. Pidge whimpered and teared up in fear. Lance held the trigger a little tighter. Pidge closed her eyes and waited for it to happen. The blaster shook in Lance's hand. Pidge opened an eye and gasped. Lance was crying.

"Lance, you don't have to do this! We can help you, we love you Lance! You're our friend! No, you're more than that. We're family! You're...you're like a brother!" Pidge insisted.

Lance pushed her away, right into Shiro's arms. Lance let go of the blaster and let out a horrifying pained scream. He laid on the floor, pulling on his hair while tears dripped down. The most terrifying part was that he was smiling the whole time. Keith, Shiro and Pidge backed up.

"Coran! Allura! Hunk! We need help in here!" Keith screamed.

The three ran in. Allura covered her mouth and stayed close to Coran. Coran teared up. Hunk rushed over to Lance, who turned violent once again. He punched Hunk right in the face, Hunk held his now bleeding nose. Coran, Shiro and Keith tackled Lance and held him down.

"Hold on, I have just the thing!" Coran proclaimed as he ran to the medical bay.

Despite his hurting nose, Hunk replaced Coran in holding Lance down. Coran soon came back with syringe and tried to inject Lance with it. It was very hard and frustrating with how much Lance moved, but he managed to find a vein and inject the liquid into it. He took the syringe out and Lance thrashed around like an animal. He manged to get free and run. Everyone chased him, which wasn't hard as the liquid took effect. Lance collapsed near the hangers. Keith picked him up.

"That damn witch will pay for this...Lance doesn't deserve any of this!" Keith dictated.

"We need to help Lance, I think the only way is to go inside his mind." Allura stated.

"How can we do that?" Hunk asked.

"If we modify the helmets from the training room it could be possible." Allura stated.

"I can help then. I want Lance back." Pidge insisted.

"I can help too! I need to help my friend." Hunk said.

"I'll pitch in too. They used to call me the coranic! With all this help it'll be done in no time!" Coran observes.

"Then get on it. Shiro, Keith, tie up Lance so there's no way he can get out." Allura dictated.

"Got it princess." Shiro responded.

After Lance was tied up, it only took an hour or two to modify the helmets. The paladins put on their helmets and we're sent in. They all were startled by landing in a stormy ocean. The rain was so heavy that the paladins could barely tell if they were under water or not. The thunder crackled loud, the only thing giving light what the lightning. The paladins tried to stay together, but were tossed around like rag dolls. Keith found something large enough to sit on, a piece of debris.

"Guys! Can you hear me!?" Keith screamed.

He could only hear the sounds that threatened to kill him. That's when he saw something through the rain and darkness. Lance. Keith quickly grabbed his drowning friend's hand. Lance gasped when he broke the surface.

"K-Keith!" Lance yelled over the storm.

The relief Keith felt didn't last long. Lance was pulled under by something. Keith grabbed at Lance's hand again desperately. He managed to pull him up again. He saw something that chilled him more than the cold sea water and the bullet like rain. The thing that was pulling Lance down was Lance, a Lance with gooey black eyes, mouth, and hands. Despite the terrifying situation, he grabbed Lance and put him on the debris. The gooey Lance screeched and dissolved in the ocean. The storm slowly stopped, the black clouds moving away, taking the rain with it. The ocean was calm.

"L-Lance...what the fuck was that!?" Keith questioned.

Lance didn't answer. He was out cold, but still holding onto Keith like his life depended on it. The other paladins found Keith.

"T-That, by far, is the worst thing I have ever experienced..." Pidge declared.

"You can say that again..." Hunk agreed.

"Lance looks like shit, Allura! Take us out!" Keith called out.

His pleads were heard and the paladins were safe on the training room floor again.

Lance looked absolutely exhausted. All of this had finally gotten to him. He definitely deserved rest.

"Let's get Lance to bed." Keith prompted.

"We can't just untie him, we don't know if it worked." Allura insisted.

"Someone could watch him." Shiro said.

"I'll do it." Keith volunteered.

"Are you sure?" Hunk asked.

"I'm definitely sure. He and I have some things to work out." Keith replied.

With that, Keith took Lance to his room and untied him. He put him on the bed and under the blankets and tucked him in. He waited patiently for what would come.


	9. Lance is back

Lance woke up with the worst headache of his life. He didn't want to open his eyes, he almost couldn't. He managed to open them slightly.

"K-K...Keith?" Lance croaked.

His throat was so dry. He needed water.

"Careful Lance, you've been through a lot." Keith said softly.

He helped Lance sit up and drink water. Lance gulped it down, choking a bit. Keith helped him stop.

"Careful Lance, we just got you back." Keith mumbled.

Lance smiled with his eyes closed.

"I love you Keith." He whispered.

Keith was bright red.

"Y-You're just delirious..." Keith stated.

"The only thing I am is in love with you...well actually I'm in pain too but that's not as romantic." Lance chuckled.

"Lance, what do you remember?' Keith asked.

"I remember...everyone was mad at me...my head hurt...I saw my mom...I was drowning...I-I couldn't breathe..." A few tears rolled down Lance's cheek.

Keith gingerly wiped Lance's eyes. Lance grabbed Keith's hand.

"I remember...you kissed me." Lance opened his eyes, he looked right into Keith's eyes.

"I'm sorry Lance. You weren't yourself, I had to do something..." Keith looked away, not being able to keep looking at Lance's sad, soft eyes.

"Would you do it again, if your life didn't depend on it?" Lance asked.

Keith was quiet for a solid five minutes.

"Yes." Keith finally answered.

"Then do it." Lance whispered.

Keith hesitated for a moment, then kissed Lance. Lance kissed him back, pouring all of the love he's been hiding into it. He stroked Keith's cheek. Keith returned the love and then some. They eventually had to separate for air. They both panted.

"W-What did happen tough?" Lance asked.

Keith explained everything. Lance started sobbing. Keith rubbed Lance's back comfortingly.

"E-Everyone must hate me...I hate me..." Lance mumbled.

Keith grabbed Lance's face a little roughly.

"Don't say that dammit! We're here for you, we all love you! That's why when you told us how you felt we did all we could to fix it! Pidge doesn't hate you, you fought mind control so you wouldn't hurt her!" Keith yelled.

Lance almost cried again. Keith held him close, hugging him tighter than ever before.

"If we go back out there, I promise you will be crushed by hugs." Keith promised.

Lance had to brace himself a bit.

"Alright. Let's go." Lance said.

Keith helped Lance to the main room where everyone was waiting.

"I...assume he's okay?" Allura said.

She was the only one who was hesitant. Everyone else hugged Lance as tightly as they could without hurting him. Pidge was crying into his shirt. Lance pet her hair.

"Hey, don't cry, I'm okay." Lance said calmly.

"Stop being I'm danger or I swear!-" Pidge threatened.

Lance smiled and wiped her eyes.

"I'll try, but I do have a record with the healing pod." Lance joked.

"Lance, I've never seen someone have a strong enough mind to be able to fight a druids control, I'm very proud of you." Shiro said, patting Lance on the back.

"Really? Thank you Shiro." Lance smiled.

"My boy, you're definitely a great paladin. One of the best I've ever seen. And I shouldn't pick favorites, but you." Coran stated.

"Aw what? I thought I was his favorite." Hunk said.

"Lance, I greatly admire the way you fought. I'm so proud, of all of you. We all grew and changed when we needed to, but none of us are really adults except for Coran. From now on, when possible, I'll give you all breaks." Allura dictated.

Lance are everyone let go and he hugged Allura.

"You're just a kid too Allura." Lance muttered.

Allura got misty eyed and hugged Lance back tightly. Lance felt happy. Lance felt like he was home. His family was here for him, and he'd never leave them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Lance!~ The last chapter has a happy ending. Thank you all so much for reading! I've gotten nothing but support, you're all my inspiration!


End file.
